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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26738890">we never painted by the numbers, baby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/theglitterati/pseuds/theglitterati'>theglitterati</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>know you better &amp; related stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoption, M/M, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Plans For The Future</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:35:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,588</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26738890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/theglitterati/pseuds/theglitterati</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bokuto and Akaashi announce that they are adopting a baby. Sakusa wonders what his own future will look like.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>know you better &amp; related stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911892</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>449</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>SakuAtsu Fics for Midterm Procrastination</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>we never painted by the numbers, baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title from "the 1" by Taylor Swift I KNOW IT'S TAYLOR AGAIN. I KNOW.</p><p>This work takes place after my longer sakuatsu fic "know you better" (about six months after). It can be read as a standalone, though there's some references to stuff that happens in KYB that you might miss.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi set another overflowing platter of food on the table. He had already brought out sashimi, pickles, soup, two kinds of meat, noodles, and rice. This plate held steamed vegetables in sesame sauce, the smell of which made Kiyoomi’s mouth water. “I think that’s all of it,” Akaashi said, taking a seat next to his husband.</p><p>“Are ya tryin’ to fatten us up, Keiji-kun?” Atsumu asked. There were only seven people at the table, but enough food for the entire Black Jackals team.</p><p>“Nah, he just multiplied how much <em> he </em> normally eats by seven,” Kuroo, Nekoma’s sketchy former captain, said. “He forgets that normal people don’t have hollow legs.”</p><p>“I guess you don’t want any leftovers, then, Kuroo-san?” Akaashi said. That shut Kuroo up.</p><p>Kiyoomi wondered if they would all still fit around the dinner table when they were done. Bokuto had invited the whole team, but only Kiyoomi, Atsumu, Hinata, and Inunaki were available that night. It was already a tight fit; Atsumu sat halfway in Kiyoomi’s lap, legs flung over his. Kiyoomi didn’t mind, though he did mind that Atsumu kept stealing whatever looked good on Kiyoomi’s plate. “Eat your own food,” he told him.</p><p>“Buh yers tastes bedder,” Atsumu mumbled through a full mouth. He attempted to kiss Kiyoomi on the nose before swallowing. Kiyoomi swatted him away.</p><p>Bokuto served up a (large) plate for Akaashi, then cleared his throat. “You’re probably wondering why I invited you all here tonight.”</p><p>“Dude,” Kuroo said. “You sound like yakuza.”</p><p>“If anyone here’s in the yakuza, it’s him,” Kiyoomi whispered. Atsumu snorted.</p><p>“I invited you,” Bokuto continued, “because we have some big news!”</p><p>“You’re pregnant,” Inunaki deadpanned.</p><p>“No, but close!” Kiyoomi’s eyebrows shot up. <em> That was close? </em>“Keiji, tell them!”</p><p>Akaashi twisted his fingers together as he explained. “We’ve been meeting with adoption agencies recently. It’s been difficult — not many of them are welcoming to gay couples — but we found one that we liked, and yesterday, they gave us their approval!”</p><p>“What does ‘approval’ mean?” Kiyoomi asked.</p><p>“Well, it could take months, or even years, but....”</p><p>“We’re gonna have a baby!” Bokuto finished for him.</p><p>“YES!” Hinata jumped to his feet. “That is AMAZING!”</p><p>The rest of them took turns congratulating them. Kiyoomi was surprised to see smarmy Kuroo tearing up.</p><p>“You guys are gonna be awesome parents,” Atsumu said. “At least Keiji is.”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“Kiddin’, Bokkun. Yer gonna be great.”</p><p>Bokuto’s expression softened. “You really think so?”</p><p>“I know so.” Atsumu and Bokuto had been friends for years, long before Sakusa and Hinata joined the team. Kiyoomi knew Atsumu’s approval must have meant a lot to him.</p><p>“Thanks, Tsum-Tsum.”</p><p>After the congratulations gave way to them devouring Akaashi’s excellent cooking, Atsumu became strangely quiet. Kiyoomi assumed it was because Bokuto was monopolizing the conversation, telling them about how he was going to redecorate the second bedroom and how much the V-league’s paternity leave sucked. But Atsumu didn’t say much on the way home after dinner, either. He only made one joke about calling Bokuto “Daddy” on the entire train ride.</p><p>Kiyoomi thought he knew why, though he really, really hoped he was wrong. They had only been dating for six months. Surely they didn’t have to talk about this yet, not when things were going so well between them.</p><p>They made it back to Kiyoomi’s apartment late, Kiyoomi washing up while Atsumu made tea. Kiyoomi had just settled into the couch when Atsumu sprung the question he’d been dreading on him.</p><p>“Do ya want kids, Omi-kun?”</p><p>“Are you joking?” Kiyoomi said, though they both knew he wasn’t. “No, I don’t want kids, Atsumu. I would have thought that was obvious.” Kiyoomi took a sip his tea. It burned his tongue.</p><p>“Eh, kinda. I mean, yeah, the thought of ya changin’ a diaper is fuckin’ hilarious. But I dunno. Ya’ve got yer cat.” He gestured at Mimi, who had curled into a perfect circle in Atsumu’s lap. “And ya spend a lotta time workin’ on volleyball with the kids at Itachiyama.”</p><p>“Neither my cat nor the volleyball team shits in diapers,” Kiyoomi pointed out.</p><p>“Fair enough. I’m not surprised by yer answer, anyway.”</p><p>Atsumu said nothing else, turning his attention to Mimi. Kiyoomi knew he was waiting. He steeled himself against the potential consequences and asked Atsumu, “What about you?”</p><p>“Me?”</p><p>“You want kids?”</p><p>Atsumu scrunched his nose up. “Nope.”</p><p>Kiyoomi managed to hold back the giant sigh of relief that threatened to escape his lungs. “Really?”</p><p>“Yeah. It was always ‘Samu that wanted ‘em, not me. He used to make me play house with him when we were little. I figure he’ll have like eight of ‘em, and I can be the fun uncle.”</p><p>Kiyoomi nodded. “Huh.”</p><p>“Yer surprised.”</p><p>“A little.”</p><p>“‘Cause ya think I’m Daddy material?”</p><p>“You already made that joke,” Kiyoomi said. “But I don’t know. You can be… nurturing, in your way.” He thought of all the juices Atsumu had brought him at practice, the way he took care of Kiyoomi when he had panic attacks.</p><p>Atsumu shrugged. “I s’pose. I think if I had a kid— like, if someone on the street tossed a baby at me and said, ‘This is yours now!’— I’d do okay. But I’m just not that interested, and I don’t think ya should have kids if yer not <em> really </em> interested.</p><p>"Plus, ya know.” He flipped his hair. “Can’t ruin my perfect body.”</p><p>“Do we need to have a talk about how babies are made?”</p><p>Atsumu made a face. “I <em> meant, </em> it takes time to look this good! Time ya don’t get when ya have a baby.”</p><p>“So you admit you weren’t born perfect, then.”</p><p>“Omiii! Ya love me. Yer supposed to be nice to me.”</p><p>Kiyoomi gave him the barest of smiles. “I’ll consider it.”</p><p>“Heh.” Atsumu prodded Kiyoomi’s thigh with his toes. “So if ya don’t want kids, what do ya want? Like in the future?”</p><p>“Volleyball," Kiyoomi said. "I want to play for as long as possible.”</p><p>“Duh. Me too. But what about after?”</p><p>After? Kiyoomi hadn’t given that much thought. “I-I don’t know.”</p><p>There were tons of possibilities, so many that it terrified him. He had a vague image of a nice house, with a garden and a quiet room where he could read. An inner peacefulness that he had yet to experience in his twenty-three years of life. But a zen garden did not a future plan make. “I guess I’ve always wanted to travel,” he said finally. It felt like a lame answer, but Atsumu smiled encouragingly. “I read a lot of European philosophy and history when I was in university. I’d like to see France, Italy, Spain...”</p><p>“That sounds nice, Omi. I can definitely picture ya there, wearin’ one of yer fancy turtlenecks.”</p><p>Kiyoomi rolled his eyes at that; he owned <em> one </em> black turtleneck sweater, which he knew he looked good in, yet Atsumu always teased him about it. “What about you?”</p><p>“Eh,” Atsumu said. “I plan on playin’ volleyball until they drag me outta the league kickin' and screamin'. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at.” Kiyoomi tried to say it was not, but Atsumu kept talking. “After that, I think… helpin’ people? Maybe people who are depressed and stuff, like I was. I dunno. I don’t, like, have a plan or whatever.”</p><p>Kiyoomi felt even worse about his answer. Atsumu wanted to save people while he flitted around Europe. “I hate not knowing what will happen,” he blurted.</p><p>“You would. Yer so picky about everything. Me, I’m used to it.” Atsumu leaned back into the pillows. “God, when I was a teenager, I didn’t even think I had a future to plan for. Now I’m bein’ all noble and shit, sayin’ I wanna help people.”</p><p>“Atsumu…” Kiyoomi hated when he talked about his teenager years, not that his own had been much better.</p><p>Atsumu waved him off. “S’fine. I’m just sayin’— we’ve both done okay so far, right? The future’ll probably work itself out. Especially for you.”</p><p>“I think things will work out for you, too,” Kiyoomi said awkwardly. It felt strange to word it that way, like he wouldn’t be there to see it.</p><p>“Thanks, Omi. Now let’s go to bed,” Atsumu said. “I’m beat.” He removed Mimi from his lap and took their teacups to the kitchen.</p><p>Kiyoomi waited for him at the bedroom door, pulling him into a kiss. He tried to convey everything he was feeling and couldn’t find the words for. He wasn’t sure it worked, but Atsumu tugged him closer and slipped his hands down to Kiyoomi’s belt. </p><p>“I thought you were tired?” Kiyoomi said.</p><p>Atsumu grinned. “I lied.” He shoved Kiyoomi onto the bed.</p><p>Afterwards, they lay together, Atsumu’s head in its usual spot on Kiyoomi’s chest. Kiyoomi never would have thought, before he met Atsumu, that he would enjoy cuddling. Now, he had grown used to the smell of Atsumu’s shampoo under his nose, the same way he’d grown used to the fluffy bathrobe Atsumu stored in his bathroom, his preferred kind of tea in the kitchen cupboard. His voice when he told Kiyoomi that he loved him.</p><p>“Atsumu,” Kiyoomi said, his voice muffled by a clump of blond hair.</p><p>“Mm?”</p><p>“Whatever happens, in my future— I want you to be there with me.”</p><p>Atsumu wrapped his arms tighter around Kiyoomi’s chest. “‘Course I’ll be there,” he said. “Yer stuck with me now, Kiyoomi. And ya know” — he looked up at him through his bangs — “I fuckin’ love Italian food.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me at kyrstin.tumblr.com! I'm also planning the fouth instalment of this series (it involves a trip)! I love revisiting this story and these two boys so much.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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